Each photographer wants to make his picture unique and as beautiful as possible. For this, various effects are often used to decorate frames. So, for example, lately it has been fashionable to add a glow in Photoshop, and this is not surprising, since the photo becomes insanely beautiful. To verify this, you must complete the lesson that is described in this article.
Bright glow in Photoshop
Before you begin, you must select a photo with which the wizard will work. First of all, it should be a picture in which the glow looks natural or complements the composition.
To get started, open the photo, which will be a bright glow in Photoshop. Then create another take. To do this, right-click on the thumbnail and select "Create a duplicate layer." And you can also create not only photos, but also any design decisions. For starters, the usual background is enough to create a glow in Photoshop.
Background for work
The first time you can try it with such a workpiece, it will emphasize the beautiful effect. Create a new document of any size and fill it with white. And after that we put a highlight, and for this you need to go to the "Filter" window, then click on the "Rendering" button and then - "Lighting Effects". On the dialog box that opened, you need to select the options that will please the designer or photographer. It is better to choose a color so that it does not merge with the background. In this case, the color is # 050244.
Light ball for photography
The next step, of course, will be the creation of the object itself. So, creating a glow effect in Photoshop is very easy. First of all, a new layer with the “Screen” blending mode is also created. After that, you need to take the Oval tool and draw a selection close to an even circle. After that, it is worth shading the resulting object to 20 pixels. This allows you to soften the halo for future fill. It is necessary to make the glow as natural as possible. The next step is to add light, and for this we use a tool such as the Radical Gradient, with options that the photographer or designer will like. In general, it all depends on the imagination and creative mood of a person.
How to make an object glow in Photoshop?
After the previous steps, you can hide all layers except the oval area, it must be duplicated again. Next, you need to draw the flash elements, again, so that everything looks as natural as possible.
Near the circle, a bright glow is created in Photoshop. And for this you need to open the editing window, go to the menu and find the "Transform" function and then select the "Scaling" item. After that, a strip should be made from a spherical object.
Creative work
The next step is the most interesting, as you can give free rein to imagination and creativity. First, filters are applied to the strip.
The first one is “Wave”, it is located in the “Filter” menu and in the “Distortion” sub-item. If the effect is not satisfactory, then using the "Free Transformation" you can improve the result.
The second effect will be "Twisting", which is located in exactly the same way as the previous paragraph. All filters are customizable to your taste, so the result depends only on how developed the imagination and creative side of the photographer.
And you can also apply all the filters more than once to achieve the necessary glow. To finish the picture, the layer with the main ball is turned on, and that’s all, the answer to the question about how to add a glow in Photoshop is completely given.
Another way
The first points are exactly the same as in the first version. Create a layer and fill it in any way, you can use the above background. After that, you need to apply a certain style to the image. To do this, right-click on the thumbnail and select "Gradient Overlay", and then, for the second time, select "Overlap Pattern".
After that, a photo is already selected, for which a glow is created. The lessons of Photoshop are actually very simple, the main thing is to be consistent and attentive.
Creating the highlight itself
For the next step, you will need the Ellipse tool, which is located in geometric shapes. Choose white color and create a circle, which is required for the picture. After that it’s worth applying “Gaussian Blur”, which is located in the “Filter” menu. In our case, a radius of 30 pixels is applied. Of course, it will be different for each photo. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment.
At this stage, each photographer or designer can add his own effects, which seem appropriate to him.
Sparks
To make the bright glow in Photoshop seem as natural as possible, you need to create sparkling threads. And for this, choose a new brush with a soft white outline. You can navigate by the settings shown below, but do not forget that the most important thing is to do as the creative side suggests. And, of course, the whole image in the final result should look as natural as possible.
After that, sparks are drawn, and the effect of "External Glow" is added to the layer. To do this, right-click and select the desired item.
And here, again, the will of the fantasy opens. All settings can be adjusted according to taste.
Smoke
This step is not necessary, because not such a conversion will look good for every photo. But still, sometimes the smoke is very strongly decorated with a bright glow in Photoshop. First, create a new layer. By the way, it is better to call each frame by its name in order to navigate them well. It’s better to select the “Lighten the base” mode to get a discreet mysterious picture. After that, you need to use the Lasso tool with shading of at least 40 pixels. Then select the area in which the fog should be. Then they put the default colors, and these are black and white shades. This is necessary in order to create clouds. You need to go to the "Filter" menu, after that find the "Rendering" sub-item and already select the required parameter.
Tip: clouds can be completely different, and in order to achieve those that will look best on the image, you can apply the step described above several times. If the result does not satisfy, then you can take an eraser and improve it. And also use a parameter such as "Opacity".
How to make a neon glow in Photoshop?
The previous two examples of creating glare are more suitable for the designer, since it is very rarely possible to customize them beautifully for a photo. The presented example looks insanely aesthetically pleasing in almost any image. But beyond that, creating a logo will also complement this effect.
First, create a new layer on which the initial manipulations will take place. Add a Radical Gradient to the frame. You can choose any color, most importantly, do not make too bright accents. In this example, the following combination was used: # 303e4a and # 151515. If the photographer has already selected a picture with which he is going to work, then the colors should be close to the shades in the image. All this is necessary in order to make the neon glow as realistic and natural as possible.
Now they create a contour of the effect itself, in this case it is a circle.
Rasterizing the image, you need to right-click on the thumbnails and select the following options:
- "Overlapping color" - for this item a white hue is taken, it is he who conveys the center of the neon tube.
- “Embossing” - this effect already transmits glass, and therefore it must be used as gently and imperceptibly as possible. It is worth experimenting and choosing those values that will be most pleasing to the eye.
- "Inner shadow" - here choose shades that will display the color of the effect itself. That is, if you need to make a pink glow, then they take the same palette.
- "Inner glow" - it must be selected so that there is a soft transition between white and the main color.
- “External glow and shadow” - the parameters are responsible for how the effect is superimposed on the whole image.
With these simple actions, you can create a glow in Photoshop, as if a real professional had worked.